A systematic review of stem cell therapy treatment for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence.

Background Stem cell therapy (SCT) is used for regeneration of injures tissues. This seems as a novel promising strategy for restoring urethral sphincter function in patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Objective To summarize the clinical trials available to date, on SCT for treatment of SUI in women. Search strategy PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Embase. Selection criteria Prospective interventional case series, randomized prospective interventional study and prospective cohort study assessing women aged 18 and over diagnosed with SUI and treated by SCT were included. The quality of studies was finally assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklists according to the PRISMA guidelines. Data collection and analysis 19 studies (n=773 patients) were selected for final analysis. These were conducted worldwide between the years 2005-2016. Although different cell types were used, general processing steps were similar. The follow up period ranged between six weeks to six years and included common subjective and objective evaluation tools. Results Overall, the studies imply that SCT for treatment of SUI is a safe and effective treatment. Conclusion In our opinion, initial results of SCT for the treatment of SUI seems promising. Standardization and validation of this treatment modality is required before it could be recommended for routine use.